Pairings for the 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Announced
June 2, 2005 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
CHICAGO, IL -- U.S. Soccer has announced the qualifying and first round pairings for the 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Thursday. Teams from the United Soccer Leagues Second Division and Premier Development League join regional qualifiers from the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) as 18 teams will see action over the next two weeks.
A qualifying round was added in 2005 to accommodate the expansion of the tournament by two teams to 42 from 40 due to the entrance of the two first-year Major League Soccer teams into the tournament. Two teams each that qualified through the USASA and PDL will playoff for spots in the first round on June 15. The teams playing in the qualifying round were selected by random draw after all of the USASA and PDL teams were grouped regionally.
The U.S. Open Cup officially kicks off on June 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Cocoa, Fla., as the Cocoa Expos (PDL) host Roma (USASA) of Dallas, Texas. The second qualifying round game sees the Salinas Valley Samba of USASA travel up the West Coast to face the Cascade Surge later that day at 7 p.m. PT in Salem, Ore.
Two professional teams â the USL Second Division Cincinnati Kings and Pittsburgh Riverhounds â join the balance of the amateur teams and the qualifying round winners in eight second round matches scheduled for June 8. The first round features one cross-town match-up as Chicago Fire Premier of the PDL hosts a fellow Second City side, the AAC Eagles of the USASA, in the suburb of Algonquin, Ill. A complete first round schedule is available below.
All 12 MLS teams are part of the 42-team field and will join the tournament beginning in the third round on July 13. All eight of the eligible USL First Division teams, six of the nine USL Second Division teams and eight teams from the PDL qualified for the 2005 tournament. Additionally, regional qualifying narrowed down the field of USASA teams to eight.
Geographical pairings and host proposals received from each club determined match-ups, as they will through the quarterfinals of the tournament. Possible pairings for the second round will be announced after the completion of the qualifying round.
At stake in the tournament is $180,000 in prize money broken down as follows: $100,000 to the champion, $50,000 to the runner up and $10,000 to the team which advances deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 2, 2005
- Pairings for the 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Announced - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- City Islanders To Be Featured on FOX43 - Penn FC
- Phantoms set to get back on winning track - New Hampshire Phantoms
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
